CHAPTER 687: CHAPTER 682: THE TREANT AND THE MURDERER

"Sir, what do you plan to do?"

Costate asked Ronald with his usual calm tone as he looked at the scene before him.

Ronald was utterly conflicted.

He had come to Yizi Forest to address the issue with the original text, but before even encountering it, he stumbled upon this situation first.

Ronald’s gaze shifted to the little girl Helle not far away.

Although she was a species born under the interference of the original text, having traveled together for over a dozen hours, Ronald had no doubt that the other party was an intelligent species capable of wisdom.

Facing such a ’child’.

It wasn’t possible to simply kill her on the spot like the ’Turnip Spirit’ before, was it?

"..."

"I... I’ll check her actual condition first."

Ronald opened his mouth and ultimately decided to check Helle’s condition first. After all, the original text’s capabilities were full of possibilities, and everything needed careful handling.

And examining Helle’s body...

In front of ordinary people, they might still hesitate over whether Helle’s species posed a danger to humans. But Ronald was different; in possession of the "Origin of Species" series of spells, he could easily extract the biological information of any living being, given the right conditions.

Ronald walked up to her quickly, without any pretense of concealment.

He directly said to the little girl in front of him:

"Helle, I’m going to check your body."

"Sorry about this."

"..."

"Eh?"

Helle, stunned by the tragedy she had witnessed, hadn’t come to her senses.

Even before she could respond to Ronald, she saw the Caster brushing lightly over her arm.

"..."

Ronald was swift in his actions.

He closed his eyes immediately after taking only a small sample, using the "Origin of Species" ability to analyze it while also carefully sensing Helle’s detailed condition in his mind.

"Hmm?"

"So it’s like this..."

"..."

As the spell unfolded, more detailed biological traits began to unravel in Ronald’s mind—traits so intricate they were perhaps unknown even to Helle’s species. And through the influence of Magic Power, he even felt some unwitnessable collective memories of the species.

Ronald’s earlier assessment was without any form of error.

Helle’s tribe was indeed a product manipulated by the original text.

More precisely, it was a species given life by the original text and began to propagate rapidly.

At the beginning, when the interference of the original text was at its strongest.

They were living in the form of wild beasts in Yizi Forest.

But due to an accident, this tribe came into contact with a Caster active in the forest, and they were deeply impressed by the Spell’s power.

— So, the problem arose.

— Spells are not something wild beasts can comprehend out of nowhere.

So, before the influence of the original text faded, their subconscious began to desire to approach humans with the ability to cast spells, leading to the rapid evolutionary process towards becoming more human-like over several generations.

The "Organic Encyclopedia" inherently contained human genetic information, making this a rather seamless transformation.

By the time it reached Helle’s generation.

They could be considered a rather special kind of human.

Without reproductive isolation, they would likely have healthier, smarter, and more beautiful bodies.

Sadly, by completing this step, the interventionist power of the original text was almost entirely depleted, and the tribe, now nearly identical to humans, could no longer cope with the increasingly terrifying other species within Yizi Forest.

"..."

"It seems that at least Helle doesn’t have any problems."

Ronald’s previously furrowed brow relaxed slightly.

Although the girl born from the original document isn’t strictly a member of the same species, she’s clearly not an enemy and lacks the ability to harm the entire ecosystem.

That... was enough.

Ronald recorded the information he had collected into the system of "Species Origin".

While he attempted to continue optimization, he also spoke to Costate by his side:

"Can you collect information from these corpses?"

The maid nodded calmly:

"Sir, I can try."

No sooner had she spoken, Costate walked calmly towards the distance and began to try extracting information from the surroundings.

Meanwhile, Ronald stayed where he was, explaining the situation to Layton and Helle, comforting these two unfortunate souls burdened by fate.

"..."

Time passed in each person’s actions.

About half an hour later, Layton and Helle had both begun to understand their current situation, and Ronald saw Costate returning from a distance.

He issued simple instructions before heading directly towards Costate’s location:

"How are things?"

"..."

The maid bowed slightly to Ronald and then began to explain:

"Sir, I have acquired quite a bit of intelligence."

"Within the current Yizi Forest, it seems there are some creatures similar to the tree spirits you know of. They carry Magic Power from the original document and walk around Yizi Forest, spreading the power of life evolution in the form of spells."

Hearing the maid’s explanation,

Ronald’s expression couldn’t help but become grave.

"Tree spirits..."

"Walking around Yizi Forest, spreading the power of the original document..."

"Is this a mere habitual behavior, or do they have some actual purpose?"

"I cannot presume to guess." The maid shook her head and then added, "However, there is one thing I think is necessary to inform you of. The species that attacked Helle’s people, their nests are not too far from here. If we go and have a look, we might find something."

"..."

The elusive original document, the wandering tree spirits, and the unpredictable Yizi Forest...

Ronald pondered these things but did not immediately make a decision.

After all, there were many factors involved in this kind of thing, and to make a decision based on a momentary impulse could easily cause problems.

"Costate, can you ensure there are no errors in the information?"

Ronald sought confirmation again, and the maid calmly replied:

"There was one of Helle’s people who was still breathing; the Extraction of memory went very smoothly."

"That reassures me... huh?" Ronald suddenly looked up at Costate, "Where is the living one, take me to see!"

Ronald was about to go and inspect the situation.

But before he took a step, Costate slightly emphasized her words:

"Sir, he was still alive before I conducted the memory Extraction."

"..."

Ronald understood the implication in Costate’s words.

He turned to look at the maid, even his gaze narrowing slightly.

The last breathing member of Helle’s kind... could it be that he died from Costate’s memory extraction?

Seeing Ronald’s expression, Costate immediately explained:

"Sir, there are no steps in my actions that would cause you displeasure, please be assured."

"Is that so..."

The two of them exchanged information in hushed tones.

A little further away, Layton, who had adjusted his attitude, saw their actions and approached with Helle.

"Mr. Ronald, what is this...?"

"I have some news." Looking at the two people, one tall and one small, Ronald pondered, "Costate just found traces of the culprit who destroyed Helle’s people, and I am considering whether to investigate further."